Joseph Prince not one of world's top 10 richest pastors: New Creation Church

SINGAPORE - A report from entertainment site Richest Lifestyle, has claimed that Joseph Prince, the founder and senior pastor of New Creation Church in Singapore, has a net worth of US$5 million ($6.36 million).

According to the site, Prince was in tenth place. The top 10 richest pastors in the world include David Oyedepo from Nigeria, who came in first place with a net worth of US$150 million, and Billy Graham from the United States, whose net worth is US$25 million.

On Tuesday, the claim by Richest Lifestyle was dismissed by the church's council. It also said that since 2009, the pastor had stopped taking a salary from the church.

Statement by New Creation Church

It has come to the attention of the Council that several recent online reports have made claims of Senior Pastor Joseph Prince's net worth and the salary that he draws from the church.

The Council is concerned by the aspersions cast by these unsubstantiated allegations on the church and the work of Pastor Prince. Pastor Prince has not, since 2009, drawn any salary from the church. While the Council regards Pastor Prince's net worth as being personal in nature, Pastor Prince has nonetheless shared with the Council that his net worth is substantially lower than the US$5m that has been alleged.

Indeed, Pastor Prince recognises that a strong foundation of corporate governance can only enhance the church and had in 2009 voluntarily stepped down from membership of the Council to focus on his spiritual role.

The Council is disappointed with the manner in which the reports were generated and circulated without proper effort having being made to validate the facts. The Council asks that these reports be withdrawn or clarified, so as not to undermine the good work of the church and Pastor Prince.